Sara Duterte skipping impeach hearing is constitutional violation —Luistro

House justice committee chairperson Gerville Luistro questioned Wednesday Vice President Sara Duterte’s faithfulness to her oath of office to follow the Constitution amid her absence in the impeachment proceedings.

Luistro made the position during Day 1 of the hearing of the evidence concerning the two impeachment complaints leveled against the Vice President, saying that the latter's absence was not exactly in line with her previous statements that she is ready to face the charges against her. 

“She is, apparently, ready to face the accusations and defend herself at length. And yet, it appears she will not even participate. We recall the words of Justice (Noel) Tijam in the previous impeachment against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno: failure to participate in the hearings before the Committee on Justice is tantamount to a culpable violation of the Constitution,” she said. 

“Ang tanong ngayon: maaari rin ba nating sabihin ito sa Bise Presidente?” Luistro asked.

(Can we say now that the Vice President is committing culpable violation of the Constitution in skipping our proceedings?) 

The two impeachment complaints filed against the Vice President alleged that she committed betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution due to the following:

• threatening to kill President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and his family in an explicit-filled video
• alleged misuse of P612.5 million confidential funds
• alleged non-declaration of assets; and
• abuse of power and bribery using confidential funds

Luistro then said that the Vice President, just like all the rest of elected officials, took the same oath which reads “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties,  preserve and defend the Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every man, and consecrate myself to the service of the nation.”

“Para sa lahat ng kawani ng gobyerno, para sa lahat ng opisyal ng pamahalaan, para sa Bise Presidente, tinutupad ba natin ito? Pinapanindigan ba natin ito,” she pointed out. 

(To all public officials, to the Vice President, are we able to fulfill that oath of office? Are we staying true to our mandate?) 

Luistro assured the public that the House justice panel will remain faithful to the Constitution in conducting its proceedings. 

“Dito sa Komite, susundan natin ang Saligang Batas, Hindi natin tatalikuran ang ating tungkulin. Iyan ang inaasahan ng taumbayan. Sapagkat ang panunumpa ay hindi lamang binibigkas sa simula. ito ay pinatutunayan sa bawat pagkakataon na tayo ay sinusubok,” she said.

She then cited the Constitutional provision which entrusts the House with the exclusive power to initiate impeachment cases.

“So regardless of the participation of the Vice President, and even in her absence, this committee will proceed. We will do our duty with resolve, without hesitation, and without delay,” Luistro added.

In a statement, Duterte said she would rather spend her time helping people affected by the soaring prices of petroleum products than attend the hearing, which she claimed the House of Representatives is only using to conduct a “third fishing expedition” against her.

She insisted that there is no evidence to prove that she has committed an impeachable offense, saying that the House justice panel should dismiss the impeachment complaints against her at this point.

Akbayan Party-list also called out Duterte for her refusal to attend the impeachment hearing.

“She protested that she had allegedly been denied due process, that her side was never heard. Today, as the House Committee on Justice takes up fresh impeachment complaints, she has been given a clear and public platform to help clarify the issues. Yet she chose not to appear,” Akbayan said.

“The contradiction is stark. When she claimed there was no platform to shed light on the issues, she demanded one. Now that such a platform is before her, she refuses to take it,” it added.

The party-list slammed and criticized Duterte’s emphasis on the economic crisis.

“Had she not engaged in an 11-day splurge of her multi-million-peso confidential funds, there might have been more resources to help cushion the very crisis she now invokes,” the statement read.

Akbayan further said that Duterte would be able to face the hearing if she has nothing to hide.

“Your non-appearance strengthens your guilt,” it added.

Determining probable cause

Meanwhile, Luistro said the determination of whether or not there is probable cause to impeach Duterte will be anchored on what is right and just instead of rigid parameters alone.

"Conscience becomes our guide—not as a substitute for evidence, but as its interpreter. Evidence tells us what happened. Conscience tells us what it means," Luistro said.

"Therefore, to determine probable cause is to listen, to weigh, and to decide—not by rigid formulas alone, but by what is just and right for the Filipino people," Luistro added.

During the determination of probable cause, both the complainants and the respondent will present their evidence for the House justice panel members to scrutinize. 

Luistro, however, clarified that the determination of the probable cause to impeach the Vice President is not tantamount to the determination of guilt.

"At this stage, in this committee, there is no deprivation. No one is being removed from office here. No one is being disqualified. No final judgment is being rendered. Those consequences, if they are to come at all, arise only in the Senate—where the trial is held, where the evidence is fully ventilated, and where the full measure of due process applies," Luistro said.

"Today is just the beginning of a process that demands patience, discipline, and vigilance. And in the search for probable cause, let us remember that what we are conducting here is merely investigative in nature, where the question is not guilt,  but whether there is sufficient basis to proceed to trial in the Senate," Luistro added. —with a report from Jiselle Anne Casucian/AOL/ VDV, GMA Integrated News